


The Inevitable Crossing of Roads

by Dominam_Mortis



Series: Fast & Furious [1]
Category: 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, BAMF Brian, BAMF Dom, Blood, Crimes & Criminals, Family Feels, Hurt!Brian, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Multi, Sassy Brian, Slow Build, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2016-02-12
Packaged: 2018-04-29 19:04:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5139113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dominam_Mortis/pseuds/Dominam_Mortis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of 2 Fast 2 Furious, Brian and Rome set up a team and delve into the world of hijacking </p><p>Brian is good at dodging things whilst driving but... he's not so good at dodging bullets</p><p> </p><p>( More tags will be added )</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. History Repeats Itself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Disregard for the past will never do us any good. Without it we cannot know truly who we are.”  
> ― Syd Moore

The quiet of the cool night was broken by a low purr of an engine as it slowly crept up to the faded start line, the engine noise increased, building up into a deafening growl. It was a mean piece of kit, costing nearly £30,000 - let alone the shipping price. A Subaru WR1, not quite as rare as hen's teeth but it was a desirable car, sleek but mean looking with some serious horsepower under the hood. As it sat idling at the start line the ice blue metallic paint gleeming under the track's floodlights. 

The colour was well coordinated with the driver's icey blue eyes as he observed the track ahead.  
Beside the beast pulled up a black BMW M5, its engine hummed in a challenge at the Subaru and its driver, both cars elegant but fast off the line.  
Both drivers met eye contact, the cool blue to the deep brown that shone with competitiveness.  
Then the seriousness of the situation broke as both drivers burst into fits of laughter, though Rome let up first, having found something hilarious in that he was racing Brian, in a BMW, on an abandoned track.

They both continued to laugh, happy that they could be free to do such things, it was odd now that they were without cops looking over their shoulders, though they constantly moved just in case. After what had happened with Verone in Miami they had taken the cash they'd pocketed and ran. They hadn't needed to really but they dcided it was best, in case they were caught with the money.  
After discussing a plan, Brian and Rome had offered for Tej and Suki to join them as they headed south, maybe get their own crew and start earning their own money, from something more interesting than street racing. 

O'Conner would never have thought he would have gone from undercover cop to a criminal but something about the fast pace and adrenaline changed his mind, wanting to put his driving skills to use, more effectively. Rome certainly hadn't argued seeing as he wasn't afraid to do something illegal.  
They'd both been surprised and relieved when Tej and Suki had quickly snapped up the offer, jumping into their cars ready for an adventure, making Brian feel like he belonged, he had people following, people who wanted to be with him and do silly shit with him, but it wasn't the family his chest ached for. They were long gone.  
Now as Brian sat at the start line he wondered whether it would have been like this if he'd never become a cop, him and his brother, Rome, racing cars with friends and making money in the process.

Shaking his head at the thought he saw the lights above stutter to life, the red flickering before staying and he instantly was ready, his muscles tapping into the memory that served him will, already mapping out the gear changes and how he'd need to drive to beat Rome, though it wasn't hard to do. Smirking he watched the light go to amber and he pressed the accelerator slightly more, receiving a raised growl from the engine. He tensed, seeing the light change in almost slow motion as he reacted to it, jumping into action as he pressed the accelerator down and letting the car go, burning rubber and making a hell of a lot of noise in the process.  
Rome was quickest off the line, his car being that much faster but not for long. As they drove the first couple of hundred metres he was ahead but as they took the first hairpin turn it was Brian's turn to take the lead as he took the corner tight smirking.

"Too wide Rome, too wide"

Brian could probably out-drive Rome blindfolded, he knew his tricks and how he drove. As he slipped past Rome he chuckled at the gawping expression on his face. He'd known Rome would never make the turn tightly, he was going too fast and his reactions were not nearly as quick as Brian's.  
Pressing the accelerator more Brian focused ahead, readying himself for the next few turns, it was harder than a quarter mile drag race, the turns required precision and quick decisions- O'Conner's specialty.

As they neared the end of the track he noticed the BMW swerving, trying to find a way past, seeing as they'd bet money on it. He let out another chuckle and continued to fend off the increasingly annoyed other driver.  
As they sped over the line Tej and Suki watched from the observation room above, Tej shaking his head, he'd known Brian would win, Roman was not anywhere close to being as good.  
They both pulled up and instantly started to chatter about it, Rome complaining that he needed the money and was "Hungry", why couldn't Brian let him win for once? This just made him smirked more and shake his head.  
Tej had been the middle man so handed Brian the cash, smiling ear to ear, he was enjoying the scene.

After they'd stood around bickering for awhile they decided to head out as the time had come for them to head out. They put away the cars and brought out their 3 matching Dodge Chargers, all black. As they took their positions in the cars Brian paused, Rome by his side. All he could think about was how he'd started this scheme, robbing the truckers of Dominican Republic. It was a twisted way of covering their tracks, playing it like Toretto had back in LA but if it worked, it worked. Deep down Brian new it was a weird way of helping, if they acted like they had and bounced around, drawing police attention then maybe Dom and the others would have less to worry about.

Pulling out they tailgated to the main road - and their target. Pulling down their masks they drew up along side the truck, O'Conner leading with Rome ready to jump out the make-shift sun roof they'd made in the car. As he pulled himself up Brian radioed the ready to the other two who confirmed they were ready. Brian tapped Rome's side and he fired the grappling hook, tugging out the passenger side windshield before firing the second through the passenger seat and clipping onto the rope and jumping across onto the truck.

Brian remembered the first time they'd done this back in Texas as a simple first try and Rome had refused to jump, being a wuss and saying it was too far before they'd threatend to push him off and he'd finally made the jump, it'd gotten much easier now.

Checking the rear-view mirror he saw Rome sedate the driver before pulling the truck over and they started unloading the cargo, flat-screen TVs and DVD players, again another reminder of back in LA. Packing it up into the cars they quickly headed off, dawn signalling their need to leave. Once they were back at the abandoned race track they unloaded and met their buyer, it was a quick transaction so that they could avoid any possible cops in the area. They'd set up this whole thing, planned to an art, they needed it running smooth to prevent being caught. Pick up, pass on, get the money then repeat until they needed to move on to another location.

It was an effective plan but it still drew attention, but not necessarily the wrong kind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Kudos and comments are always apreciated :)


	2. What I Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a year since what had happened and it still hurts Dom.  
> What he decides after hearing about the hijacking will change what happens, to both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.”  
> ― Voltaire

The newspaper crashed down onto the table, crumpling the pages. The man reading it was red in the face, grumbling curses before standing up, his chair legs squealing in protest at the sudden movement. As Vince barged in to the living room he thrust the article he'd been reading in Dom's face.  
He glared at Vince lightly before reading the headline, eyes beginning to narrow as he read. Scanning over the article he was trying to decide if he was relieved or angry, someone was committing crimes that exactly matched their old ones, though there was different cars involved it seemed identical. Looking up at the raging Vince he saw him gesture for him to look at the other part of the article. Opening up the spread his eyes locked onto the 4 pictures in the bottom right corner. Reading the caption he glared at them, anger seeping into his posture, shoulders stiffening. It read:

"Wanted: Four suspects have been identified due to previous similar crimes in Los Angeles."

The 4 pictures were mugshots of Dom, Vince, Leon and Letty.  
Dom began to grow more enraged, he knew they were being blamed for crimes they didn't commit.  
As Letty placed a hand on his shoulders to try and calm him he sighed and read the full article, noting that it seemed to have full police attention and that the last hijacking was near them. 

It had been nearly a year since him and the crew had had that unfortunate last hijacking, Vince getting so badly injured, nearly losing him. He should have listened to them when they'd said they felt something was off before they'd left. Maybe if he'd listened he would never had to have seen that luminous orange supra save the day but also ruin his life and break his heart.

Standing up he handed the paper back to Vince, may be a little too forcefully before silently leaving to go to the garage and fiddle with one of the cars.  
Soon he found himself inside said Supra, glaring at the steering wheel like it was responsible for all of this shit.

As he sat staring his mind began to go over the facts, the article had described the crime including a quote from the driver saying about how precise the drivers were, how quick and skillful it was, he'd had no time to react properly.  
He'd seen articles on the hijackings, slowly becoming more important to the newspaper writers, having gone from being a corner article to front page had meant he had kept up with it. It was weird to see it happening, nostalgic even, seeing as it was their crime. 

That made it all the more confusing as from what he'd gathered, the crimes were identical. Before they'd nearly got caught their hadn't been much information on the hijackings, at least not exact details so how could they match exactly?  
The only people who knew were him and the crew, Mia,  
and the detectives on the case. That only left one person, and he didn't want to think about him.

Closing his eyes it finally dawned on him, the only other person he knew that could pull it off was Brian. Brian...the name made his mouth dry and his stomach twist. The guy had betrayed him, his trust and loyalty yet when it'd come down to it he had helped him, he'd saved Vince, avenged Jesse and given him the keys to the Supra. Brian had let him go, and in tern had ruined his whole life. That was more loyalty than he'd ever seen before and that's what confused him most.

 

After having the rest of the day to think on the matter he decided on an action plan. They were in La Romana and the last hijacking had been on the road coming from the north which meant there was only one large road left that the trucks would use. It was the large highway that ran from east to west across La Romana and was used by the trucks that left the port. Many of the companies that used the port of La Romana had valuable products but didn't want to use the obvious choice of Santo Domingo which often got very busy and despite tight security was known to have robberies.  
It was a logical choice to hijack the trucks leaving the port. They probably had someone on the inside who'd notify them of high value targets.

He'd decided that he would go on a stake out, try and catch them in the act. What he'd do afterwards he hadn't decided yet.

After sleeping for a few hours he left at 1:30 am, deciding that anything after this time would be about right. A driver would be tired, no one else would be using the roads, plus there was the cover of darkness.

Dom had snuck out, borrowing Leon's Ford Mustang GT. 

Now, at 4:36 am he was regretting his decision. He'd been here for hours and had only seen a few passing drivers, mostly tired overworked people who'd left their work far too late. 

Dom had managed to eat a few too many packets of cheetos that he had again stolen off Leon. They were the cheap version you'd get in a dingy shop but they'd stopped him from going hungry and kept the Corona he'd brought along from affecting him.  
He'd kept the radio on, listening to some obscure station that was playing some relatively okay music. That'd taken up time, trying to find a station not playing rap or something not Spanish.

Now he was glad he'd put on something as it suddenly had a bass drop and woke him up, he must have drifted off. Checking the time he saw he'd only been out of it maybe 10 minutes. He was sure nothing had passed, despite being a good sleeper the roar of a truck would have woken him up.

As he yawned for the 100th time in the past hour he distantly saw the glow of headlights. Perking up in his seat he saw the large pair of headlights, moving at about 50 mph. Turning the keys in the ignition of the Mustang he watched as 3 sets of headlights came fast upon the truck.

Making sure his own headlights were off he waited and watched, he would admit he watched it awe. They were quick, efficient and organized. Seeing them doing the exact same as his crew had and faster made him jealous, they'd never been as effective as these guys. They had the truck stopped within minutes. Unloading quickly.

Taking his chance he pulled out of his hiding place as they got into their cars, making their exit. Accelerating he then halted, turning his car sideways to at least try and cover the 3 lanes but succeeding in stopping the fleeing crooks. 

As they stopped he got out storming toward the lead car, he'd recognized the quick reactions and driving as Brian's and he was going to confront him.

He stopped short, hearing the multiple clicks of guns being loaded. That was different.

Watching as the masked driver got out of the vehicle he'd been heading for he sucked in a breath, not realizing how nervous he'd been. Seeing the jeans and sneakers he though: same old Brian.

His brows furrowed.

Same old Brian he was angry with was all that ran through his mind as started forward toward him. Despite the warning shout from someone off to his right he stormed right up to Brian and pushed him back against the car, making him drop his gun back into his seat.

Pressing him back against the car he looked Brian in the eyes, he saw the confusion, the worry but unlike other men he'd manhandled there was no fear.

Brian brought his arms down onto Dom's, making him drop his hold on Brian before he was pushed back, stumbling. He stood there, shocked. He'd never experienced Brian when he was a cop, never knew his real strength. Now he did.

Meeting Brian's now angry look he realized there was a lot more he had to learn about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! Updates will be eratic but I will try to upload quickly.   
> School gets in the way.
> 
>  
> 
> As always, thanks for reading :)  
> Kudos and comments are appreciated x


	3. A Learning Curve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”  
> ― Mahatma Gandhi

"What the hell man?" He barked at Dom, though he knew the answer he'd never have thought it would've gotten physical. 

Spreading his hands he sighed. "Ahh, look we can talk bro but not now, we need to go." He noticed the hesitation in Dom's movement as he got up but it soon was gone, replaced by resilience. Looks like that wasn't going to fly.

Dom just crossed his arms in response, clearly going to refuse to talk, meaning Brian had to. It worked.

Brian nodded and ran a hand over his face, he understood what Dom meant, they did need to talk. He didn't know what to say though. He hadn't even sorted out his own feelings on the matter.

"Rome take my car. Head to the meeting place, I'll meet you there bro." 

Looking back at Dom he met his eyes, conveying his thoughts. Before he could speak Dom tossed over the keys to the Mustang, flatly saying: "You drive"

Brian caught them deftly and quickly walked over to the car, taking a wide birth around Dom, just in case he was still that angry, though he doubted it. He could read Dom, well he could most of the time...okay sometimes. The guy must be great at Poker.

Slipping into the seat he found it odd that he didn't need to drop the seat back, him and Dom both were the same distance from the wheel. Well you learn new things everyday.

Putting the keys in the ignition he looked over as Dom got in, all he could think of was when he'd taken the Supra for that first drive, Dom by his side but this time there was no smile.

Watching the others go their seperate ways back to the abandoned track he waited before starting the engine and pulling away, not really in any rush to get there. They still had an hour before their delivery.

He drove under the speed limit for once. The silence was awkward but he didn't know what to do to break it. Well he didn't have to decide, Dom did.

"Why'd you do it?" He said in his gravelly tone.

Brian sneered. "That's pretty vague dude, you need to specify." He looked over, a smile playing on his lips. 

He was pleased to see Dom quirk and eyebrow slightly in amusement, though he wouldn't admit that he had a point.

"Everything." -He received another look. -"Why did you let me go? Why did you save Vince? Why did you avenge Jesse?" He stopped. Realizing he was going to overload Brian with questions if he continued.

Brian shrugged in response. "I don't know man, it just, felt right." It was completely sincere.

Dom looked over at him, brows furrowing.

His look was met. "I mean, even as a cop it just felt wrong to let them catch you. It felt wrong to let them get away." He chuckled a little at what he was about to say. "Even saving Vince's ass felt right, despite our differences." 

That made Dom smirk. He'd always seen the way Vince and Brian seemed to avoid each other. The tension when they were in the same room was suffocating, the confrontational eye contact. Well you didn't have to be a genius to work out they didn't like each other.

They made small talk most of the way, talking about what they'd been up to during the past year. 

Brian explained how he'd taken down Carter Verone in Miami, how both he and Rome had taken the money and pulled off the plan that had made the cops look like fools. He was relieved to hear Dom laugh heartily at the story next to him.

"You got balls O'Connor, you got balls." He'd looked over to see the ear-to-ear smile, all teeth. It was just an amazing smile, it still made Dom feeling happier. It was as if it was magic, it made everyone who received it feel good, feel like nothing could bring them down. It was a one-of-a-kind smile, nothing to beat it.

Brian had started to laugh, it was infectious.

The laughter and fun was short lived as they drew up to the old track's turn off. Brian's smile faded and he sighed. As they drove down and pulled into the open workshop he saw the other cars were already back.

Stopping the car he composed himself. He'd wanted to talk more but it didn't feel appropriate, not with the others around and them needing to set up, ready for the meet.

Once they'd gotten out he walked up to the others, gave Rome a shoulder bump and they exchanged a few joking insults with each other with Rome's ending with the usual:  
"Crazy ass white boy"

Brian then gave Suki a kiss on the cheek and asked Tej what the catch was then gave him a pat on the shoulder. A big well done to all, another successful job.

Tej went through the specs, how much in total it would come to. Brian nodded, taking in the information so that when him and the buyer were sorting things out he knew if he was getting cheated out of some money.

 

Dom stayed back but kept an eye on everything, also mentally storing the information for when he watched the buy.

"Let's get the cars ready and start unpacking. Get everything ready."

They all ran through the motions. Parking the three black cars in places only they knew around the old track and garages, their exit strategies.

They kept the Mustang in here. All the product had been taken from the trunks of the cars and the bags were put in the middle of the floor, and invisible line, a middle ground.

Once everything was set he checked the time, they still had 45 minutes before the buyer got here.

Gesturing for Dom to follow him he headed for a nearby door that lead to the next room. As they went in Brian headed over to the truck. It was their transport lorry, it held 6 cars. It carried Brian's Subaru, Rome's BMW and the three hijacking cars. 

It also carried the Charger.

After what had happened in Miami Brian had spent time deciding to stay as a cop or not, which left him still with a badge. Seeing as he was still a cop he'd decided to get the shell of a car from the impound lot.

He'd had to sign paperwork and get a guy to come down and transport it but it felt like it was worth the hassle. 

He'd stared at the shell for a long time, slowly rebuilding it. Heating the metal and popping the sides back into place, trying to keep as much of it original as possible.

Rome had given him a look, muttering it was "a piece of crap" and "not worth the time or money" but Brian had continued on.

Recently they'd had time and he'd finally gotten her to look like a car but the engine was still missing a few bits. 

 

As Dom followed him he strode over to the tarp he had over the car, feeling over the moon that he could finally give the car back to Dom. Maybe it would serve as a peace offering?

Turning back he was about to make a quip, something a long the lines of "close your eyes" when a fist connected with the left side of his face. Hard.

He reeled but soon regained his composure, rubbing his already numbing cheek. Mouth agape.

"Ow!"

He stared at Dom in utter shock.

"What the hell was that for?"

Dom just shook his hand, clearly not having realized it would hurt to punch the younger man as much as it did.

"You didn't let me hit you earlier"

Brian continued to gape. That wasn't fair.

He narrowed his eyes but let Dom relax, he'd get him back for that. Well, he understood why he'd hit him but it had been uncalled for, maybe if they argued later? But not now.

He huffed and rubbed his face again. Man, did Dom have steel fists or something? That hurt like a bitch.

Deciding he wasn't gonna let Dom think he was a wimp he shrugged it off, though noted to get an icepack for that later.

Walking up to the car he whisked the tarpaulin off the charger and watched Dom's expression. 

Dom looked like he'd seen a ghost. Well he had, but a ghost of a car that had snuck its way into his dreams recently. 

He stepped up, running a hand over her sleek frame and smiled. Brian smiled too, he knew how much the curse of a car meant to Dom.

Dom stopped, turning to Brian.

"You fixed her. I thought I'd lost her...back there in LA." He said it quietly.

Brian smiled but not his usual reckless smile that was plastered to his smile, no this was warm. Filled with affection. He did like Dom, respected him and knew deep down that he'd never give up on the car. It was a sentimental thing and Brian didn't have things like that but he knew how much it meant to Dom.

"I pulled a few strings, dragged her out of the impound lot." He noticed Dom assessing her, seeing what Brian had done to her. "I had some time on my hands, thought I'd fix her up. I kept as much as I could of the original parts but some things weren't salvageable."

Dom smiled widely, it was kind of toothy like a shark, but not scary. 

"Thank you."

That was the best thing he'd heard for a year. It made Brian's chest tighten. He'd done something right, something that Dom appreciated. 

Dom then started to talk about the car and what he reckoned it needed. Brian nodding and saying what he'd ordered and what he had listed down.

"I still have the new exhaust in the truck, let me just-" He was cut of by Rome coming in.

"Yo, Brian. We got 15 minutes. So don't get your head stuck in the engine." 

Brian chuckled. "Surely only you can do that Rome, with that big head of yours." 

He received a scowl which made him laugh more and Dom smile before Rome knew he was unwelcome and sauntered off.

"Ahh man, still gets him." At Dom's questioning look he smiled and continued talking. 

"Me and Rome grew up in Barstow together, hence why I went to Juvie. He got locked up a few years ago when I was at the academy. Until late last year he was on house arrest. Then when we got Verone he went free."

Dom nodded. "Seems like a bit of a loud mouth to me." That made Brian snort. 

"Yeah, that's true."

"What about the other two?"

He grinned. "Met them on the Miami circuit, Tej ran the races, Suki raced. Tej used to race, got injured so started organizing and being the bookie."

"So why them?"

"They were in it on the Miami deal, though at the time we didn't know we were gonna pinch the cash of Verone but it just seemed logical." He shrugged. "They're my friends."

Dom smiled fondly. "But they're not yo family."

Brian hesitated. Smile faultering.

"How...how are they?" He still felt bad. After what he'd done, ruined their lives. Made them leave their childhood homes. 

"Same old, same old. Though Mia's still in LA, keeping up the shopping and studying. Letty, Leon and Vince are with me."

"You still racing?"

That made Dom smile, why wouldn't he? "Of course."

Brian stopped and sighed, deciding to get it off his chest.

"Look Dom, what happened in LA...I'm sorry man. I betrayed you, I was undercover and didn't tell you, I ruined your lives." He ran a hand through his hair anxiously.

"Yeah you did Bri. It hurt us all, especially Mia. Hell, why do you think I punched you? But...we get it. We know why you did it but we also thank you." His tone was easy, no anger in it.

Brian looked confused. "Why?"

"You let us go. You saved Vince, shot Tran and gave me the keys to the Supra." He looked deep into Brian's eyes, trying to convey how he felt properly. "You ruined our lives but you also gave up yours. Losing your job, all you had...for us...for me. There's nothing more loyal than that in my eyes."

Well that had shut Brian up, he was utterly stunned, eyes locked on Dom's. They both had outed what they felt and it had relieved them. The weight left their shoulders and Brian could hope for forgiveness, for a family again. Dom could hope to thank Brian properly and fill the gap he hadn't realized he'd had in the last year.

They stood in companioable silence for awhile before Brian decided to check the time. They had 5 minutes.

As Brian stood with his chest feeling full of warmth. He felt good. But there was something nagging at him. It was a deep thought in the back of his mind. Something he'd felt since he'd first really seen the mountain of a man.

Looking up he was instantly met by Dom's eyes. They reminded him of chocolate, smooth and rich but sometimes you could bite off more than you could chew and could be solid as rock.

Something lit up in his chest, a spark lighting the fire that consumed his heart and realized something he'd condemned for a year. He didn't just respect the guy. He loved him.

Woah, where had that come from?

It wasn't onesided. Dom had a similar feeling, though he had butterflies. Uncommon as it was he could get nervous, especially when he'd first seen the blue eyed, reckless boy. He'd glanced over as he'd ordered that tuna sandwich, normally he'd ignore customers but a regular that ordered Mia's god awful tuna? That was weird. 

He'd been hooked since he'd met those bright icey blue eyes for the first time.

Now as he looked into them it all came crashing down. They anger, the relief, the shock, the love. 

They both crashed their lips together at the same time, in unison. Like they were two halves of a whole meeting. It was an odd feeling for both, this love but it was stemmed from mutual respect, loyalty and shared experiences.

Brian kissed like he drove, reckless and invasive, searching out Dom's tongue. Mapping his mouth with his own.

Whereas Dom was more experienced but powerful and passionate, he let Brian search him but also reciprocated.

It was hot, a first kiss that would put any other to shame.

They finally broke apart to breath, heads close as they panted. Dom's hand was now cupping Brian's jaw, careful of where he'd hit him earlier.  
Brian's hands were wrapped under and around, holding onto Dom's firm, muscular shoulders.

As they broke apart and looked into each-other's eyes they knew they loved one another.

It was weird that such a complicated friendship had turned into this. It was unexpected.

"You're going to have to explain this to Mia." Brian blurted out, making Dom groan. That didn't help the already steamy mood as Brian felt the groan go right to his dick.

Then jumped apart like they'd been burned when Suki burst in, glaring at Brian. Obviously she hadn't seen or realized as she yelled. "They just pulled down the track. Get your ass in here now!" 

He looked to Dom, he saw the look in his eyes, it was mellow and seemed to promise they'd continue this later.

As he pushed up from where he was leaning on the Charger's hood he smiled to himself.

His heart was pounding in his ears, his veins singing with adrenaline, like he'd just done a quarter mile race, but better.

As he went into the other room he felt as high as a kite.

Looking back he saw Dom follow him but all the easiness of the situation had gone, Dom was now cool but menacing, arms crossing, making the slightly shorter man seem twice as big.

Brian stood behind the bags of product, stance casual but deceiving as his muscles were tense, ready to reach for his gun or leap to safety. His hands were by his sides, a neutral stance whereas Dom's was defensive.

As a black Hummer pulled up, clearly modified, the engine sounding much more powerful than a regular Hummer engine. A green 1972 Ford Gran Torino with a white strip also pulled up. The driver of the Torino stepped out, Brian instantly recognising the look of a muscle man, though he was more independant than their buyer's bodyguards. Speaking of, he watched as a short but superior looking Mexican. 

Brian's breath caught in his throat, he recognised the Mexican. He'd never known his buyers but this one, he remembered from his time as a cop. Arturo Braga. What the hell was he doing here? 

He watched cautiously as Braga walked toward him with a taunting smile. He wasn't the only one on a wanted poster he figured, great, Braga knew who he was.

"Buenos días," Braga said though his tone wasn't friendly. "I see you have what I asked for."

Braga gestured behind him for two of his shadows to collect the product and put it in the Hummer's trunk.

The man with the strip of curly hair and scars that drove the Gran Torino then reached into his car and brought the briefcase that presumingly held the cash.

Braga walked up to the invisible line that seperated him and Brian. The man's smile having turned into a sneer. 

"Brian? May I call you Brian?" He got a terse nod in response.

"Well, Brian, I know of your skills...your reputation. Seeing as we have just completed a transaction," He nodded his head to the briefcase of money that was handed to Rome. "I wondered if I could hire your skills again, but for a more...substantial income. Something a little bit more..dangerous." The way he said the last part was more like a growl, sounding ever so slightly threatening.

Brian raised an eyebrow, deciding to listen to the proposition before deciding. 

"You see, I have a more advanced market than you currently possess. But I've seen your skills," His smile widened and Brian felt a cold feeling run down his spine. So Braga had been watching? Huh. "and I was wondering whether we could go into business, I could use a team like yours."

To Brian it didn't feel like a question, more like a order. Shit, this wasn't good.

"And what would we be acquiring?" Brian heard Dom peak up from just behind him, when had he come closer?

Braga smiled, seeming satisfied that they were considering his proposal. "Well that is something you will find out at the time."

Brian frowned. "Can we have some time to think over this proposal?" He added emphasis onto the word.

He saw the change in Braga's eye, the dangerous glint. Crap, he'd made the wrong move. 

"Oh Brian, seeing as you were on the other side of the law at one time, I would have thought you would know the answer to that."

They were screwed. Brian knew what that meant, he knew how to read between the lines.

"So you should know, it wasn't really an offer." His tone was almost humorous, like Brian asking was a joke.

Slowly Braga was stepping back toward the Hummer and Brian saw the tactical move he was making. A split second before it happened he turned, simultaneously shielding and pushing Dom out of the line of fire.

They all scrambled for cover as the three muscle men pulled out semi-automatics and shot at them. It was a typical mob move, if they sensed doubt or possible deception they would remove the threat.

Dom fell back behind the Mustang, hearing bullets punch holes into the car. Leon was going to kill him. Suddenly he panicked, looking around. Where was Brian?

Peeking out from behind the car he spotted the blond hunched on the floor a couple of metres away, clutching his side, blood pooling slightly.

Dom felt his heart thrum like a trapped bird in his chest.  
"Brian!" He saw the blond look at him, eyes a little wide. His expression was pained and his face was pale.

As he watched he saw the two bodyguards from earlier grab Brian and drag him towards Braga's car. He tried to get up and follow but ducked down as Braga's right hand man shot at him before placing a phone down on the floor and stating to the rest of them team:  
"You have 36 hours. You will receive co-ordinates and other details via text. Collect the item and you will have your man back."

They then left, tires screeching in protest as they sped away.

As they left the others all slowly emerged from their hiding places, sharing horrified looks.

But not Dom.

He stood looking at the pool of blood on the floor, the last trace of Brian.

His look was furious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is!  
> I've decided to write more now, try and fill out the chapters more.
> 
> Also as you can read, I decided to add our favorite bad guy, Braga!
> 
> Again left you guys with a cliffy, sorry ;)
> 
> **Extra note! Sorry if you get confused, I'm trying to find a username I really like lol


	4. The Drink's On Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, I know, I suck xD  
> This chapter is far too late and far too short but I had to update with something so this will have to do.
> 
> The idea behind this was provided by my friend, so I thought, why not? It's certainly a unique way of causing pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him.”  
>  ― Paulo Coelho

 

Everything hurt.

He felt like someone had dropped and anvil on him.

Except this was no cartoon and he wasn't getting away with it scot-free.

He was sure he had a concussion, maybe a cracked rib. Something was burning in his side.

As he blearily blinked open his eyes he was met by a dull light above him.

God damn Braga.

 

Brian looked round as far as he could from his uncomfortable position on some sort of bed...with restraints.

Now he was worried. 

His arms were stretched out sideways on padded extensions of the bed, strapped down tightly. He couldn't move an inch in these restraints.

It reminded him eerily of one of the beds he'd seen at death row when he was in the academy. They'd taken the new recruits on a tour of the facility in a scare tactic. It showed them the behind the scenes of death row and what their final sight would be. It hadn't been a particularly fun field trip, that was for sure.

Now he felt like he was going to be sick.

Hang on, he was with Braga the last he remembered. How was he here?

That's right, he'd been dragged from the car, still kicking and screaming...and bleeding.

Glancing down he finally noticed he was shirtless, his stomach was stained with dried red blood that itched a little. He could see the wound, the jagged edge to it, but it wasn't life threatening. It had clipped his side, taking a chunk of him with it but hadn't clipped any organs or arteries, thank God.

As he moved slightly to try and get a better look of the room he nearly choked on air as the hot, sharp pain radiated from the wound, it made him want to sob, he hated getting shot.

Deciding movement should be kept to a minimum he finally took in the room properly.

It was dingy, a metal seat sitting a few metres from him and a rather daunting looking table near it but the rest of the room was empty.

Clearly the room had seen similar occupants before as he could see the blood stained concrete floor, making his stomach do a flip.

Putting his head back he closed his eyes, trying to remember what had happened.

He was glad the light above him was dim, his head felt like someone was playing a drum in it, pulsing hard and making him a little dizzy.

As he recalled the reason for headache he felt nauseous.

After a long drive from the track, with him bleeding all over Braga's seats ( the guy deserved it ) they'd stopped outside a building, having gone round the back.

He'd estimated they'd driven for 2 hours, not too far then. Maybe 126 km? It hadn't been long enough for it to be further. 

He'd know where they were if he hadn't been too busy bleeding out and panicking to think straight.

Dom.

His chest tightened.

Letting out a slightly choked breath he flashed back to that scene not more than 4 hours ago, Dom screaming his name in absolute terror.

Now he remembered why he felt so crap.

He'd fought back, headbutting one of the muscle men in the head with a loud crack, he reckoned by the agonized groan and sudden relief of pressure he'd broken the guy's nose. Serves him right.

He'd gotten a few harsh punches and kicks after that before being smacked over the head with what felt like a gun. No drums in his head, just the after affect of being hit with a 45 caliber hand gun.

His thoughts were so disjointed, his mind all over the place. He couldn't think straight, his mind like cotton candy, whipped around and fuzzy.

Definitely a concussion, he came to the conclusion.

After what seemed liked hours he heard the distinct click of a door being unlocked, the groan of it opening before the obnoxious tapping of what he presumed were Braga's shoes. What an asshole.

As if to prove it the man was eating an apple, a god damn apple! Cliche much?

He noticed the man circling before stopping to his left and slowly walking over to him. He made a strange sort of hum, satisfaction he presumed.

"I see you've finally woken."

No shit.

"We have a lot to talk about...Brian"

He said his name with emphasis, as if it was new that he knew his name. What a drama queen. 

Brian new he needed to stop getting distracted by thinking up insults for the Mexican man but it was becoming more and more an enticing idea as the man jabbered on.

"...Brian, we need to know."

Now he wished he'd been paying attention more, but it was so hard, he had an insistent headache and a hole in his side.

"Would you like to tell us?"

He presumed it was about Dom and the crew, probably the shipment, it would make sense. Though he actually didn't know, they're back up plan if anyone was kidnapped or missing was to hide it somewhere they wouldn't know. 

"I don't know where the shipment is." He said, noting his voice wasn't as strong as he'd presumed it'd be. It was also a little croaked, his mouth was dry and he was thirsty.

He saw Braga shrug. "Ahh well, no need to press, you're team will be making it up to me anyway." The grin on his face grew as he saw Brian's eyes widen.

"But," He continued. "We wouldn't mind."

"I told you. I don't know." He saw the disappointed expression on Braga's face.

"We told your man Toretto that in exchange for his services we would return you."

Braga then stepped closer, leaning over in his face.

"But we never said it would be unharmed."

Brian felt a pit in his stomach, he knew what that meant, this wasn't his first rodeo. It meant torture. 

Now, he was no novice when it came to torture, he knew the drill, there was physical. Cutting, burning, water boarding, etc and then there was psychological. That included loud music, shouting, degrading questions and ransom situations.

Though, when he saw the tray that was brought in an laid on the metal table he wasn't expecting cocktail ingredients.

He frowned, thoroughly confused. What was Braga gonna do, make him die of jealousy? Alcohol poisoning?

Noticing that Braga was watching him with another smug expression he glared.

Then he watched him go to the table.

Seeing him pick up a small clear bowl he eyed it, unable to see its contents till he got closer, then was a little shocked when he saw the salt within that bowl.

"Have you ever had a Margarita Brian?"

He nodded, then frowned.

"Then you know it is a Mexican drink, si?"

He nodded again.

Braga smiled. "The Margarita was changed by you Americans, making it into a fancy cocktail."

"The way it is now is this, 'lick-sip-suck' technique. Where you lick the salt, then sip the tequila before sucking the lime."

Slowly Brian's brain ticked over and it dawned on him what he was about to do. He felt the colour drain from his face, utter terror filling him. This was a whole new board game. He'd had the whole, bullet-wound-being-pressed thing, but this, this was literally pouring salt on the wound.

At his reaction he got yet another smile from Braga, god he must stop making that man smile, it pissed him off.

Before he could think of a comment though, Braga turned and pinched some salt, then poured it on his gunshot wound.

At first it stung, then as it sunk, more and more salt pouring onto the raw flesh he felt the burning. It was like someone had set alight his side whilst simultaneously stabbing it with small knives.

He gritted his teeth tight, feeling them grind and the metallic taste as he cut his tongue. A cry of pain grew within him and he barely muffled it as he pulled taunt against the restraints.

He was in agony.

Braga was just laughing, finding Brian's pain funny. He was gonna kill him, he swore it.

After what seemed like 20 minutes of hell he felt it begin to fade, the salt had stopped being applied and was now just encouraging scar tissue to form.

Before he'd even noticed Braga leave he returned with a bottle. Tequila. Oh god.

He didn't even need to know what was going to happen.

Braga slowly unscrewed the lid, then tipped the bottle, letting one drip of the liquid fall on Brian's wound.

That was all it took. He hissed in pain.

Then it all came pouring down and he couldn't take it. He couldn't take holding it back and just screamed.

It was worse than the slow feeling of dying, bleeding out, knowing you would eventually die. No this was like he was in Hell. If he wasn't able to see through his now watering eyes, he'd think someone had dropped a lighter on him, letting him burn. 

Looking at the bottle he wished he could down it, drown out the pain with the cause.

He heard the splashing as the tequila poured onto the floor below and felt the cool of it soaking down the table, coating his jeans and soaking down to his skin.

It was a massive contrast, the fire the tequila caused in his side with the cool of it on his undamaged skin.

To his relief he heard the chug of the bottle emptying and sighed, weary from the agonizing pain.

It made his head spin harshly, wanting to throw whatever he could out of his empty stomach.

He breathed heavily, sweat beading on his skin, making his chest and neck cold, his hair sticking to his forehead.

Please let this be over.

No, there's still the 'suck', the lime. It couldn't be truer to the expression, it sucked.

He knew what all these ingredients did, they stung like a bitch but would also cauterize the wound, making it heal, though it'd scar. But ultimately it would keep him alive, so he didn't die of blood loss or septicemia.

He heard the clunk of the bottle being placed back on the tray before a clink of a plate and the footsteps returning.

"And last but not least, the lime."

The fire returned. Like a dragon's breath on his side. 

He felt the cool relief of tears in his eyes, the choking in his throat as a sob bubbled up.

All he could do was close his eyes and hope.

All he could hope was that Dom was coming, Dom was gonna fix this.

Dom would get him out of here.

And that's all he needed to get him through the pain.


End file.
